A Dark Cloud Over London
A Kerberos Club FATE play-by-post game
Contents
Dramatis Personae and their Aspects[edit]
Captain Daniel Crow
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Major William Henry Hodgson
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Mrs Elizabeth Ann Tokugawa
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Jack
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Campaign Aspects[edit]
Status Quo
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Places of Interest
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The Club
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Faces
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Status Quo[edit]
- A Hairline Fracture (Legacy)
Crow’s prophecy of a final battle between the Kerberos Club and a world-destroying Queen Victoria and his actions to prevent this future have started to curdle in the minds of the club-goers. Usual rules of diplomacy – avoiding religion and politics – are becoming increasingly honoured in the breach, and discussions of patriotism vs. class loyalty, mysticism vs. mechanisation, Queen and Country vs. abolitionist principles and predetermination vs. free can be heard in the clubrooms at all hours. So far, it is all talk. So far, believers trust Crow is the answer and skeptics think the fad will blow over.
- Challengers of the Unknown (Legacy)
From its very formation, the Club has strived to create a haven for the Strangers within; one way to show their usefuness to Queen and country was to step in to handle crises of the odd and otherworldy persuasion. With time, this pro bono work with an eye for legitimacy has become more than this; a sizeable tradition of Kerbereans have come to see this as a most noble duty. When innocents are threatened by forces of oddity and Strangeness, they will stand in the way.
- Nights of the Ninja (Legacy)
The Art of the Vanishing Serpent has come to London. Though not brought by her directly, Elizabeth recognises the signs of the Art that she once studied in a set of remarkable, some might say inexplicable, murders. Locked rooms, high windows, in plain sight in Leicester Square. Passing like ghosts, leaving only corpses in their wake, a darker presence has come to England on the East wind. Bringing their ancient, serpentine order to England may be the next step in the eternal, cyclical war between the Vanishing Serpent practitioners and the deadly artists of the Kali.
- The Signs of the Phansigar (Dilemma)
Everyone in London has heard of the Thuggee and their particular murderous modus operandi -- death by garrote, usually in the form of a yellow scarf, knotted in the center to crush the larynx of the victim. Until recently, the Thuggee were little more then bogeymen for Londoners, even those who have spent some time in India. A spate of murders has changed all that. Experts have determined that these assassinations were not the handiwork of a copycat, but rather show all the signs of authentic Phansigar craft.
- Opium Opens the Door (Dilemma)
Samuel Berk's Needlework opens a hyper-vivid dreamworld to the hackers, visionary artists, conmen, addicts and technoshamans. So far, this knowledge is undergound cant, belonging to the very boho or the very cutting edge... but rich and powerful men are starting to scent a new path to power.
- The Secret Eyes of Her Majesty (Dilemma)
As the century grows Weirder, the powers that be starts worrying about unhealthy infuences on the fabric of society. Informants have disappeared in the streets, establishments catering to the odder ends of society has disappeared or been boarded up without warning. Special Branch have their eyes on the Kerberos Club.
- The Opening of the East (Dilemma)
The life and times of Mrs Tokugawa have directly resulted in the opening of Japan. With India already under British control, and the mass interest in the opium trade in China, the Land of the Rising Sun offers both cultural importation and the opportunity for exploitation. Those in the Club and otherwise with an interest in social justice, however, have grave concerns regarding what havoc might be wrought on the up until now unapproachable East by the hands of those who see it as a beast ripe for slaughter.
Places of Interest[edit]
- The India Club / Power concealed is power enhanced
A gentleman’s club where foreign office staff, East India board members and grand old military men can make the true and terrible decisions of Empire.
- Little India / The Scapegoats of Strangeness
A de facto ghetto comprising only a few blocks near the London docks, this humble area is the center of Indian immigrant life in London in 1860, the first foothold of an ever-increasing population. Its residents are by-and-large arrived within the last 2 years, and so have brought much of their home life -- their food, their mores, their religion, and their gods -- with them. There are those in every stratum of society who find the rapid pace of change -- moral, technological, metaphysical -- disturbing. The immigrants of Little India, with their unfamiliar ways and vulnerable social standing, make all too tempting scapegoats for those who want to vent their frustrations.
- Mister Peng's Exotica / A Republic of Dope-Fiends
Situated in the heart of Chelsea, this modest storefront masquerades as a purveyor of exotic trinkets from China; its primary source of revenue, however, is a high-grade opium much favored by 'enthusiasts' from all around London. Its 'private viewing rooms' in the back are, in their way, every bit as democratic as the Kerberos Club itself, where bohemians, otherwise respectable ladies, underclass hoopleheads, and gentlemen of 'refined' tastes congregate. Those who gather at the Exotica form a kind of parallel society, with bonds of shared ritual and connoisseurship cutting across barriers of class, sex, race -- and Strangeness.
- The Calculation Mill / The dark mill cares not whether you're good or bad, but grinds out its calculations...
A row of factories of Babbage's Analytical Engines (steam-engine processors that receive punch-card input and output to an electrostatic printing device) daisy-chained together from teleghraph cables to record, audit and predict the financial records of an empire.
- The Docklands / A hive of scum and opportunity
The docks along the River have long been a den of criminals - these days, it is positively bursting with gangs, smugglers and various kind of exotic visitors to the great cty of London. Parts of it redesigned by the Queen´s architects according to new and modern theories of architecture, they are a strange blend of old, worn-down cobblestone and impressive, authoritarian metal stuctures.
- The Chamber of the Orrery and Astrolabe / “We are not enchanted.”
Everyone knows of the Star Chamber, the monarchical superior court and instrument of tyranny. Fewer know of the Chamber of the Orrery and the Astrolabe, the Chamber in the Palace of Westminster devoted to the Privy Council's deliberations on arts mysterious and arcane. Founded by John Dee during the reign of Elizabeth I, the Chamber of the Orrery and the Astrolabe has come into increased use in recent years as further strangeness haunts London. The Councillors have begun to keep tabs on the Queen herself, though she has, as with everything, particular views when it comes to the use and application of magic.
- The Haversham-Thames Boat Club / The Race Is On
Every second Sunday of the month, the Propulsionists of the Haversham-Thames Boat Club meet to discuss, and then race, their latest inventions. Rudimentary autogyros, electricity powered boats, gyroscoping wheels, all are put to the test in a mad dash from location in the English countryside to location. The inventions themselves range from the practical to the esoteric, with some pursuing the pure goals of science, some the thrill of the chase and others more financial or nefarious ends.
The Club[edit]
- To Save the Union (Agenda)
The Club has reached a consensus intended to paper over the growing iriitabilities – wherever possible and not too much effort, Club-members will work to prevent this proposed Southern Confederacy from coming to be, or at least from becoming it’s own state, or at least from allying with England. Then the whole time-paradox headache and ethical issues can be ignored.
- The Royalist Cause (Agenda)
Ever since Queen Victoria herself exhibited a touch of Strangeness, there has been a small cadre of Kerberans who believe that she is not merely a monarch, but a divinity deserving of worship (or so close to divine as to be indistinguishable from it). This view is rarely given voice for the sake of maintaining comity within the Club, but those who do espouse it have powerful allies within Her Majesty's Government.
- Find the Missing Shogun (Agenda)
Tokugawa Kaneda, rightful representative of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, remains missing. Since disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle, his whereabouts remain completely unknown. His ship has not been recovered. It is unknown whether he is alive or dead. Elizabeth has let it be known that there will be significant rewards for any who can confirm his death, yet more significant rewards for anyone who can find him alive. For those uninterested in money, it remains critically true that his reappearance may be able to unite Japan to peace, or plunge it into deeper international war.
- The Chrono-Tuner (Strange)
It holds to reason that time-travel leaves its mark, even if the time machine is destroyed. The room where Crow first arrived continues to hum with a strange melodic frequency, and some say that at night, they see strange shapes moving in the shadows. One elderly gentlemen swears he saw a dinosaur being ridden by a Mongul charge out from the room, glance around and charge back in…
- The Forbidden Reliquary (Strange)
The Kerberos Club has a (not undeserved) reputation for imprudence; neighbors have lost count of the occasions when some member of the Club or other has caused damage (physical, mental or spiritual) to the people and buildings nearby. But some objects prove too Strange, too dangerous, too wild even by the Kerberans' standards; by common consent, these are locked away in a sub-sub-sub basement, protected by safeguards magical and technological. These formidable defenses have not always deterred the curious from trying to gain access to the Reliquary; they have, so far as anyone knowns, always proven effective.
- At Least They´re *Our* Monsters (Public)
Though still looked upon as oddities and outsiders, the Kerberos Club has never the less acted as protectors of the people of the British Empire on several occasions. Since most of their work has been done in the lower stratas of society - such as fighting the Fey exiles of the Faceless Legion in the old sewers - they have gotten an almost incidental reputation of standing up for the poor and the have-nothings. While this has made them into strage sorts of celebrities among the underclasses, it has raised some suspicions in the saloons... and in some very secret offices.
- A House Full of Heresy (Public)
While the Club may enjoy a positive reputation among the underclasses, the more orthodox strata of society take a decidedly dimmer view of the Kerberos Club. With the Oxford Movement at the head, the right-thinking bourgeoisie rarely miss an opportunity to blame this or that misfortune on the corrupting influence of the Kerberans.
- The Open Day (Public)
The Club sets its own responsibilities and agendas, but it is unsurprising, given its remarkedness, that upon occassion it is critical for members of the general populace to make requests, seek assistance, demand reparations or sample the marvels of the Kerberos Club. Every 60 days, the Club hold an open day, where its members interact with the public and entertain visitors in the clubrooms. Traditionally, no accord is given to rank or wealth, but people are met either on the priority of their requirements or a first-come first serve basis.
Faces[edit]
- Thug Ranuman Ravana, Living Saint of the Phansigar (Antagonist)
The honoured student of Behram, Ravana has become the most respected thuggee, responsible for the care and moral education of the goddesses' vessel. Thix chief deciever, reknown for strangling over seven hundred enemies and skinning his victims without shedding a single drop of blood so as to steal their identities, is selflessly and calmly seeking to drive Hodgman to become the goddess as often as possible. (Signs of the Phansigar)
- Mrs. Harker of Special Branch (Antagonist)
Something as odd as a female who has not only managed to get a position within the secretive service but has actually made a great career of it. A middle-aged woman wit severe yet handsome features, she is rarely seen without her darkened spectacles or her gaggle of quiet, well-dressed and brutally efficient "handymen." She has made a point of butting in on several of Jack's vigilante actions and has seemingly by extension started to focus her attention on the whole Kerberean coterie. (Secret Eyes of Her Majesty)
- Tokugawa Iesada (Antagonist) - The Blood Mad Scholar of the Shogunate
Mrs Tokugawa's brother-in-law, and current uncomfortable head of Japan. Though the Emperor holds title, his role is largely ceremonial and Iesada has genuine control over much of Japan's day to day operations. He is required to operate within tradition, and placate rival families (some of which are otherwise inclined) but Iesada is a rampant traditionalist and is known to have a remarkable hatred for the Western ideas creeping into the East and those who carry them (The Opening of the East)
- Blacktar, the Mexican Horse (Unknown)
This needlework mercenary is quickly making a name for him or herself as one of the most reliable 'business adjustors' on the somavis scene. They also seem to have a taste in the ironic and theatrical. (Opium Opens The Door)
- Père Kazimir Gorski (Unknown) / To know the secret of Time is to know the nature of the Divine!
Polish-born, Francophone emigré; heterodox, defrocked Jesuit; member of the Société Scientifique; and foremost expert on temporal Strangeness. Lately arrived in London to pursue the matter of Captain Crow. (The Chrono-Tuner)
- Col. Leonidas Early (Antagonist) / We will never surrender our peculiar institution.
A charming, erudite, and able diplomat from South Carolina, toast of all the best Society parties, Knight of the Golden Circle. (To Save The Union)
- Doctor Eustace Bassingley-Gore (Ally)
Drummed out of Oxford (where he was commonly known as 'Useless Gassingly Bore', Dr EBG is the capitalist equivalent of Jack's own technological wonderment. What he lacks in her innate gifts, he makes up for in innovation, expertise and resources. A regular attendant at the Haversham-Thames Boat Club, the Doctor specialises in unique modes of transportation and devices designed to store and conceal equipment. He is known to take a particular interest in members of the Club, given their ability and propensity to play guinea pig for some of his equipment (Haversham-Thames Boat Club)
